Kumoba Pond, Artificial pond in Karuizawa, Japan

Kumoba Pond is an elongated artificial pond in Karuizawa, formed by damming a small stream, the Kumoba River, which rises from the Gosuisen spring. A walking path circles the water through the Kumoba Pond park area, and the narrow shape is reflected in a legend that the pond is the footprint of a giant called Deiranbo.

Kumoba Pond was created in the Taisho era by Genjiro Nozawa of the trading firm Nozawa-gumi, who dammed a small stream, the Kumoba River, while developing the surrounding land as a villa district. The stream rises from Gozensui, a spring inside the grounds of the present Hotel Kashima no Mori that was already known as fine water in the Edo period and supplied the tables of daimyo and imperial households, including Emperor Meiji on a tour. The pond has been a walking route since it was made.

Locals call the pond "Omizubata", and foreign summer visitors once nicknamed it "Swan Lake". It has been a favoured walking course since it was created, appearing in essays by Horiguchi Daigaku, Kawabata Yasunari, Masamune Hakucho, Muro Saisei, Yoshiya Nobuko and Yosano Akiko. The surrounding area was a high-class villa district of former peers, politicians and financiers, including the Fushimi, Maeda, Matsudaira and Okuma residences.

The location is easy to navigate with a flat, accessible walking path that suits visitors of different abilities. Early morning visits work best if you prefer fewer crowds and want to see the clearest water reflections.

Locals call the pond "Omizubata", and foreign summer residents nicknamed it "Swan Lake" after swans were said to stop there. Legend also holds that its elongated shape is the footprint of the giant Dairanbo. The water comes from the Gosuzen spring, known since the Edo period and once used for the meals of daimyo and imperial households.